Monday, May 6, 2013

Paper-Sequinned Handbag

The girls have entered a new phase in their creative development - the one in which they bring craft project ideas to me and ask to make them. Gone are the days in which I prepare materials the night before and surprise them in the morning with, "Hey, let's do a (Mother-spearheaded) craft!" Or, at least, if I did that now, they'd say, "Um, maybe later." I can still persuade Kate to make something with me because she's still very interested in guided crafts but the older two girls are doing their own thing these days. Just yesterday, I found a sheet of sketches by Jenna (our kindergartener), who's just started experimenting with drawing 3D shapes.

I couldn't believe the perspective in those baskets at the bottom of the paper. Those handles! Brava, Jenna! Incidentally, the other figures are (clockwise from top) a block, a cup and a bendy straw.

I try to feel all morose and left out of their little Children-Only Crafting Club but actually, I'm thrilled that they're taking the initiative to find things they want to make. Also, if this means I get to put my feet up or sew a seam or two while they're huddled over the kitchen table, cutting out paper shapes or folding origami peacocks or coloring, I'm not complaining!

Back to today's project. This was a pretty paper handbag that Jenna saw in this book (Usborne books rock!) and asked to make. This week, we did. Ours were adapted slightly to be made more independently by children.

We started with a medium-sized lunch bag and cut the bottom half off. We cut the top half into bands of about 2" wide. You'll only need two of the bands - these are the straps.

We cut each band open into a long strip, folded it in thirds lengthwise and glued these folds down to make a strap.

The straps were then glued to the bottom half of the bag,

whose top edge was folded down to the inside of the bag, to prevent paper cuts. Note that if you already have a short, squat paper bag with handles, you can skip all the previous steps and begin the craft from the next step.

We cut circles of construction paper and cardstock - we used a 2" craft punch for ours. Actually, these circles were leftovers from this earlier project. There's nothing like using leftovers from a project that was also designed to use leftovers!

Then we punched holes in them

and threaded short lengths of string through the holes.

We stuck a strip of double-sided tape on one face of the bag and stuck the threaded circle on it.

The strip of tape was positioned so that the circle would hang almost to the base.

More strips of tape were stuck on the bag so that the upper rows of circles would overlap the rows below them when they were attached.

Then we got out our washi tape

to cover the exposed sticky strip when all the paper circles for that row have been stuck on.

The next row of paper circles was then stuck on above that first one.

Jenna decided that three rows were enough and turned down my suggestions to pretty up the space above the pink row, saying, "Just let me do it my way, Mom!"

Kate decided that that area above the uppermost row of circles needed washitaping,

as did the handles. Kate calls that middle row of circles her "ladybug layer".

The girls really enjoyed this craft. Emily came home from school to find us washitaping everything in sight and asked to make a bag as well. We only had two blank bags so sometime soon I need to make one for her. And just when I thought they'd outgrown Prepared Crafts. Hrmph.

P.S. Good news: After many, many mind-changes, Kate has finally settled on a theme for her birthday party! Bad news: It's caterpillars. Shudder.

LOL. Wrt Jenna's drawings, at first glance, I thought the bendy straw was some sort of resistor and the cup was a screw (bearing in mind that she has likely inherited the physics gene). Those drawings are awesome.

Hello and Welcome!

I am a gratefully unemployed mom of three girls, all of whom are growing up much too soon! I like piles of warm, fresh laundry, the smell of salt air near the beach where I used to live, making lists, anything round (like heads) and the quiet evenings sitting with the man of the house after the kids are in bed.

Copyright

You are welcome to link to this blog and to any post on this blog and use ONE or TWO photos for that purpose. Do not use photos of my children. You are welcome to pin images from my blog, if those photos do not have my children's faces in them. Please contact me if you want to use the text on, or more photos from, this blog. Do not post my tutorials on your sites. Do not translate tutorials from this blog into other languages on your site. The ideas and instructions in the tutorials are free - but please use them to only make stuff for yourself or for gifts and not to sell. Ta! For more information, this and this might be helpful.